Baker, family and employees keep local eatery open

March 16, 2008|By RICK KAZMER, Daily American Staff Writer

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When a district manager for the Italian Oven restaurant chain told Sheila Baker that most of the corporate-owned locations were going to be shut down, Baker said she could not stand to see the original Somerset eatery go belly up.

That was in 1998.

Since then, Baker, a host of family members and 40 employees, have worked to build the Italian Oven back into a prominent destination for locals seeking homeade Italian cuisine.

“You have to have a passion for it,” said Baker, who was a corporate manager with the restaurant chain. “It’s my passion.”

That passion is shared by several family members who help with the restaurant’s daily operation. Baker’s sister, Tammy and both of their husbands, Leroy Newell and Don Baker, contribute to the restaurant with their specific areas of expertise.

Among family members, banking, management and every day maintenance concerns are taken care of.

“I am blessed,” Baker said. “I work with my family every day.”

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Every morning for the last 10 years, Baker’s mother, “mamma” Jeannette Davis prepares meat loaf, meatballs and hamburgers with her special touch.

“I make them fresh every day,” Davis said. “It gets me out of the house.”

Davis would not divulge specific recipes or techniques.

“It’s all secret,” she said with laughter.

Preparing food with the freshest ingredients is a concept Baker maintained from the corporate philosophy.

“We try to use as much local ingredients as possible,” she said.

All of the food served at the restaurant is made from scratch. The pizzas are cooked in an oven fired by cherry logs.

Baker said there could be as many as 2,000 people a week eating food prepared by cooks at the restaurant. Bryan Hummel is one of those cooks. He said on some days, he prepares more than 20 pizzas.

“ I have probably made over 10,000 in my career,” said the self proclaimed pizza specialist. “The most popular toppings are pepperoni and mushrooms.”

Hummel has been a cook at the restaurant since 1995, when the restaurant was still under the corporate umbrella.

“I like working here now, more,” he said. “There is care in the restaurant and care in the employees.”

Bartender, server and cook, Sheila Beadling agreed with Hummel that the family-owned restaurant provides a pleasant work environment.

“I would rather work here than a corporate restaurant,” she said. Beadling said her favorite food at the restaurant is the salads.

“Our salads are awesome.”

It has been about 10 years since corporate officials sold the chain and shut the doors to many Italian Ovens. If Baker has anything to do with it, the Somerset location will be open for a while.